Couple:

Aislinn & Nick

Location:

Private property, The Blue Mountains

From the Photographer:

We met Aislinn and Nick at a coffee shop in Collingwood to talk about their wedding and we right away we knew wanted to work with them! We met up with them again at the wedding location the week of the wedding. Because of the high water levels in 2019 the spot they picked out for the reception flooded. We loved how Aislinn and Nick didn't let this stop them from achieving the feel they wanted for their wedding and it all turned out beautifully! We loved that their friend officiated the wedding and how Aislinn's dad and his band from college play for part of the reception! One of the most amazing bands we have ever heard and they had almost everyone dancing and singing! We just love this couple so much and we are so happy we could be a part of their day.

From the Couple:

How did you choose your venue?: Our ceremony and reception took place at the home of close family friends. Both of our parents are close friends with the owners of the property so our families are deeply connected to both the people and the property there. When we started discussing getting married there was nowhere else we could picture it, the whole family was so generous in allowing us to have our wedding there. Their home is actually how we became reconnected 7 years ago at an annual party! It is also where we shared our first kiss, along with so many fond memories with our families and friends. It is one of our absolute favourite places in the world so it meant so much to us to be able to be married there.

What was the most important thing for you for your wedding day?: We both agreed that we wanted a wedding that felt like us. Above all, we wanted to be comfortable and to have a good time! All of our decisions were geared towards having a day that we both enjoyed.

Please describe any unique details from your day and why they were special to you: There were so many personal touches that made our wedding feel like us.

The venue is a place where we both spent a lot of time growing up so it meant the world to us to be able to be married somewhere that we had such a deep connection to, both separately and as a couple.

I chose my three sisters as my bridesmaids and Nick chose his brother and his two cousins as his groomsmen, this made for a really relaxed and comfortable experience getting ready with our families before the wedding. A close family friend of ours is amazing at hair and makeup so she was able to come and help us get ready. We consider her to be like a cousin so again it really added to the relaxed atmosphere.

My dad’s roommate from University has been around my whole life and the two of them love to get together still to play music. He did the music for our ceremony and sang me down the aisle accompanied by my Maid of Honour (and big sister) Siobhan. It was such a comfort to have two important people in our lives create an atmosphere for our vows.

The ceremony was officiated by another "cousin" of ours, Rebecca Amadei. She is a wedding officiant by trade, but as she has known me my entire life and has known Nick since we began dating 7 years ago she was able to create a beautiful and personal ceremony. We felt like the ceremony reflected us as a couple perfectly and couldn't have asked for a more meaningful experience. She also surprised us by having close friends come up during the ceremony to say some words and included an Irish blessing said by my parents. We loved every second of it.

My dad's band was the entertainment for the evening which was such a blast and we danced the night away on a dance floor that our close family friend hauled up for us from Brampton, it really was a labour of love. The music for the evening was ended with our family friends the Mike McCarthy Band taking the stage, and then we got the guitars out around the campfire till the early hours of the morning.

What was the atmosphere you were trying to create?: On our wedding day, we wanted to be relaxed and surrounded by nature and the people we love. The goal was to have the whole day feel like a really fun family party, just like the ones we grew up going to at the property where we had our wedding.

What area of your wedding did you splurge on? (what was your top priority): Our goal was to use local vendors wherever possible and to only spend money where it mattered. We wanted amazing food, good wine, and a good time.

What area of your wedding did you save on?: We made sure to be reasonable with our budget concerning every aspect of the wedding. There wasn't any unnecessary spending as all we wanted from the day was the opportunity to celebrate our marriage with the people we love.

What wedding advice would you give to someone planning their wedding now?: Plan a day and a party that you both would want to attend! We were very careful to create a day that we would both feel relaxed in and enjoy.

What was your most memorable moment of the day?: There are so many moments from the day that stand out to us! One that we really cherish is taking a moment to stop and watch the sunset together. This is a tradition for the family who owns the property and is something we have grown to love as well. We have watched so many sunsets there both separately growing up and together as a couple, so it was really special for us to be able to do that for the first time as a married couple on our wedding day.
Another aspect of the day that really stood out to us was the love and support from our community in pulling the wedding off. Due to the high water levels last summer we had some trouble with flooding in the weeks leading up to the wedding and so many people rallied together to help protect the property and people we all love. We could have fretted about it with regards to the wedding, but honestly, it gave us a chance to spend time with our family and friends even more and helped to provide some grounding perspectives as to what is important in life. On top of that, it also gave us a better appreciation for the people in our lives and how generous and helpful they are. We are so lucky to be a part of an amazing community of people who love and take care of one another and watching this unfold as we prepared to marry each other was a really great reminder of who we want to be as people and as a couple. In the end, the wedding was everything we hoped for, we got a beautiful day, an incredible sunset, and were surrounded by the people we love.

What was your biggest challenge in the planning process?: We spent a lot of time checking in with each other as the plans progressed to make sure we were staying true to our vision. It is easy to get caught up in the planning and forget about why you're getting married and what is important to you as a couple. We wanted to make sure we didn't lose sight of this, and in the end, the day reflected us as a couple beautifully.

What was your first dance song?: Forever - Mumford and Sons